Nice Wines has raised close to £1 million from its latest round of crowdfunding to boost its on-trade channel and invest in NPD.
The canned wine startup business beat its £750k target within 24 hours of the campaign going public, raising approximately £920k from more than 200 investors on the Seedrs platform – valuing the brand at £17.8m.
Stocked nationwide by retailers Sainsbury’s, Ocado and WHSmith, as well as on trains and Virgin Atlantic flights, the wine label has experienced a surge in retail growth over the last year.
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Launched in 2019 by Lucy Busk and Jeremy May, Nice has expanded its initial canned offering into bag-in-box, and also wine on tap. Last year alone, the brand generated a turnover of £3.9m, an increase of 144% year on year.
Nice reportedly plans to use the crowdfunded cash to boost its wine-on-tap offering from 25 venues across the UK.
It will also invest in further product innovation and new packaging formats, new senior hires and international expansion.
Co-founder, Jeremy May, told The Grocer that its popularity was continuing to grow rapidly, saying: “Total miniature wine is worth £160m in the off-trade, cans currently make up 8.8% of this.
“This means one in 10 single-serve wines are now served in a can – that is up from one in 20 less than two years ago.”
He added: “We know consumers’ habits are shifting and they are looking for more environmentally and convenient ways to wine, so, while there’s been good growth in the canned wine category, there’s still a huge amount of room for growth and a lot to go after.”
In related news, Virgin Wines reported a fall in profits and sales in the first quarter of this year after ‘challenges’ over the Christmas trading period.
